McLoughlin Family Christmas Letter 2011 With BONUS Pics!

I ordered these awesome photo Christmas cards and picked them up from CVS and don't have a file, so here's a picture of the picture I ordered. Scroll down for the actual letter with BONUS photos! It's your lucky day! Whoot whoot! Whoo ho! Boo-ya!

So here's the annual Christmas letter. I'm not sure why I even write one since I have the blog. I started doing it because my husband's family always did one and I thought it was neat. The thing is, they started it because they moved AWAY and had to do a letter to keep everyone up with them and their 5 kids. My mother-in-law used to use clear gelatin to make copies of the letters. No joke, folks.

Merry Christmas! Here’s a little update (youngest kid to oldest kid) so you have something to read while you use the restroom (it doubles as toilet paper!):

Samuel turned 2 in October and loves trains, fire trucks, anything that makes noise and BALLS. The boy scares me with how he can dribble a basketball and then sit on it like he’s some lifetime player. Put a soccer ball in front of his foot and he’ll kick it into any goal. He is ornery, but lucky for him his cuteness offsets that. We’re currently trying to keep him from unwrapping ALL the gifts under the tree.

Eva turned 4 this month and loves anything Barbie. She likes to play with babies, have her makeup done and nails painted, but she is also pretty tough! She can be found most days painting with watercolors and sneaking popsicles from the freezer. She fits in a ride on her little princess bike whenever she can.

            Callie turned 6 in February. She started a dance class in the spring and had a recital in June which Tutu got to come to. She recently switched to Upward Cheer and will cheer at her first basketball game in January. She is a little actress who can put together a fashionable outfit with anything that’s laying around, and likes Barbie, singing and dancing.

Michael turned 8 in April and is taking gymnastics with Joel. He’s had Henry the King Betta for about a year now. Speaking of fish, he and Joel got to go fishing twice this year with Aron and their Poppy. Michael got 1^st in Pinewood Derby for siblings again and 1^st in Raingutter Regatta! In the spring we got to go down by Kemper Arena for his Junior First Lego League competition, which was amazing (his team built a little mobility scooter). The boys are crazy for Pokemon cards right now!

Joel turned 10 in June and we keep him in playdates galore. Always the businessman, he shoveled driveways when the snow hit and sold lemonade all summer. He went to Cub Scout camp and was top seller of popcorn in his pack, along with winning 2^nd place in Pinewood Derby again and 3^rd in Raingutter Regatta! He still has Daisy the Hamster and now also Herman the Hermit Crab. He likes to volunteer at Harvester’s with Grandpa Mac, and a couple of weeks ago he built the World’s Biggest Leaf Pile with his dad and siblings (I helped!).

I turned 40 in June and Aron had a big party for me with Mexican catered food, a DJ, moonwalk, Adirondack chairs and a rented red Mustang convertible! I started Bible study at Holy Trinity (the 3 oldest kids go to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at the same time), and otherwise I’m just sitting around the house homeschooling, stripping wallpaper, being involved in Scouts, blogging, writing (for 93 magazines!) and (as Sam gets older) I’m even getting my photos organized so I can start scrapbooking again. I’ve always been pretty lazy like that.

            Aron turned 45 in November without a party L However, I did rent him a red convertible Camaro for a week, and we had fun! He’s had to go to Phoenix some this year for work, but thanks to Jordan we’ve been able to go on a few dates this year! He’s still a Cub Scout Den Leader, Religious Ed teacher (Joel, Michael and Callie go to class) and awesome dad and husband. We’ve been together for 16 years now, and I don’t know how he puts up with me!

This year found us going on tons of outings: to the pool, the zoo, nature centers, farmsteads, museums, parks, pet stores, seeing friends and family and more. To keep up with us, check out TheKerrieShow.com, where I regularly post photos and other fun family information (and inflammatory opinions!).

Here’s hoping 2012 is even better than this year for everyone. Take care of yourselves and of each other ©

Love from Aron, Kerrie, Joel, Michael, Callie, Eva and Sam McLoughlin

I Got a Whipped Cream Pie in the Face

Well, it's about time. I know a lot of people have been dying to pie me in the face for a very long time. Last night my son Joel got to do it. Here's how it happened:

Joel wins a $40 WalMart.com gift card and Zyclone gun for being top popcorn seller in the pack

Then Joel got his sweet Top Seller prize: a Thermarest bedroll, which will keep his tootsies warm on winter campouts

The 5 top sellers got to pick a den leader to give a whipped cream pie in the face. I had told Joel earlier that he could do me if he absolutely was dying to.

Yep, the boy got me good. Shoulda smeared it my hair better, though!

Yum!

For Kids and People Who Hate Math: Life of Fred

Actually, this book rec is for kids who LOVE math, who HATE math, who TEACH math, and even for ADULTS who loved or hated math. This rec is also for parents who are struggling through math homework with their kids or who need a fun math supplement.*

I have found the most awesome book for teaching math to kids. I know, I know, you are saying, "Kerrie, put this crap on your homeschooling mommybot blog, girl. I don't give a flying fig about how you teach math to your little hellion children."

WAIT! Listen up! Because this series is so funny that my kids BEG their dad and I to read it to them at bedtime. My husband thinks this will never work because they aren't doing "drill and kill" math (you remember, the endless worksheets doing stuff you either hadn't a clue how to do or else knew after the first 2 problems!!!). It's now up to me to prove to Aron that the kids CAN learn math this way, and MORE! Oh, and just because you don't have worksheets, you still have "problems" (he calls is "Your Turn to Play" at the end of each short chapter and the answers are on the other side of the page), and they range from simple to logical to things to draw to funny.

This set of books is called "Life of Fred" and starts with the elementary series. The first book is called Apples, then there's Butterflies and they go in alphabetical order. The books go all the way up to teaching CALCULUS, for gosh sake! They are so great because they tell the goofy story of a "kid" named Fred, who is 5 years old and a university teacher. Sometimes there is an Intermission for adult readers only, like:

"I am going to put this in tiny type so that kids won't read it [Kerrie says, so of COURSE they are going to think it is forbidden and will read it!!!!!! Genius!]. Some kids will be dying to know how to draw a circle inside of any old triangle. Since I'm not telling them how to do it, they may ask you. I'll pass the secret on to you, so that you can appear really smart."

*They are hilarious
*They are set in Kansas
*They sneak in learning (geometry for 1st graders? who knew?). What other 6-year-old on the block knows who Archimedes is?????
*They sneak in God (sets of 10 include toes, fingers, Commandments)
*They teach logic because sometimes the stories are so messed up and silly ... how is a 5-year-old a college teacher? How come his doll can draw like an artist? Where did Fred's common sense go?
*They make me excited to learn math. I HATED math in school. My teachers blew through stuff and I was lost. ONE year I had a great teacher for Geometry in high school and the entire class got As because she waited until everybody understood.

*I'm not getting any money or books in exchange for writing this post. I just stumbled upon something great thanks to my awesome Facebook homeschool group, and wanted to share because I like to laugh and I like to see my kids learn without crying or their eyes glazing over! I bought the first book online for $16 and am borrowing the rest from friends until I can buy the whole series.

BIG Announcement ... Come to the Blog

Gotcha! Sorry about that. You probably think I'm pregnant, but no, I do not currently have anyone residing in my womb. I just wanted to tease you a little bit. To reward you for your obedience, I will share something personal about myself that I recently learned (and you also get to see a picture of my kids loafing around from last summer):

I don't wash my hands after a poopie diaper change because I am worried about germs. I wash them because I don't want my hands to smell like poop.

Have a great week ... our tree is up, presents are being wrapped, photo cards are being picked up today, my new mommy business cards are in, and the Christmas letter is in the works (not really; I'm procrastinating that one).

Pokemon Cake, Barbie/Cookie Monster Cupcakes

Here are the promised photos of Eva's Pikachu Pokemon cake and her doll and Cookie Monster cupcakes. They were made by my friend's 12-year-old homeschooled daughter (A&A's Custom Cakes), and you can find her on Facebook by clicking here. If you live in Kansas City, have her make you a cake or cupcakes! Peruse her online portfolio!